Customer Reviews

Rich and Strange

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The popular and even legendary reputation Alfred Hitchcock has acquired over the decades can become an obstacle to appreciating some of his early work, such as almost a dozen silent films before 1930, and also some of his early sound films, such as "Rich and Strange". As a silent film enthusiast, I particularly enjoyed seeing many elements of the silent film language in this early `30s movie, such as title cards to convey certain information with the written word, as well as echoes of German Expressionist cinema in which Hitchcock started his career while working for the German UFA studio in the 1920s. This style emphasizes visual effects, the use of light and shadow, some camera tricks and unusual angles, all of which add depth, dimension and dynamics to the story that is being expressed through a more visual medium rather than dialogue and sound. As a result, "Rich and Strange" does not have too much dialogue, and certainly none that could not be expressed in a few intertitles, making this something like a silent film with some sound and dialogue - at least to those of us well acquainted with the silent medium.

Other viewers will have to put aside their expectations of mystery thrillers because Hitchcock successfully directed other styles, especially in the first decade or two of his career. "Rich and Strange", for example, is a drama with a touch of comedy at the right moments, focussing on a couple's marriage crisis and personal inner challenges. The story and indeed, Hitchcock's direction, shows deep insight into human nature, such as a married man's restlessness after eight years of marriage and mundane work, and his dream of adventure on the high seas. When the opportunity arises to fulfill this dream and experience what he believes he has been missing, their lives go off on separate tangents during a lengthy ocean voyage. Confronted with new and challenging situations and different, even exotic people, they both believe to be in love with someone else until they find their way back to each other, but not before a frightening ordeal aboard the cheap steamship meant to be taking them home. It is a two-fold voyage of physically visiting faraway exotic places as well as the emotional voyage of the inner psyche, as they are forced to find themselves and get their life back on track again. No doubt this kind of voyage is something that happens to most of us to some degree, and I found it particularly enjoyable how Hitchcock conveyed this message, as well as seeing interesting and unusual scenes and sets representing the foreign and exotic locations (which could well represent the new and foreign challenges within themselves). On its own, "Rich and Strange" is a charming and very enjoyable film of the early 1930s, and due to its different style, perhaps an important and interesting addition to the Hitchcock collection.

Rich and Strange may have been mostly ignored by the public at the time of its release, but viewed today it is a rich and mature look at a married couple taking what is truly important for granted. Dale Collins' novel was worked on by Hitch, his wife Alma, and Val Valentine. Photographed nicely by John Cox and Charles Martin, Hitchcock showed flair in his designing of sets, and honed many camera techniques audiences would come to expect in his later films of suspense. A marital drama with humor and unexpected depth, it has often been quite unfairly misunderstood or dismissed. It is quite excellent, however, and deserves a much better reputation than it has garnered.

The film boasts two fine performances from Henry Kendall as Fred, and Joan Barry as his sweet wife, Emily. Kendall is outstanding as the less mature and restless half of the marriage, while Barry is strikingly beautiful and often adorable as a wife whose love is deep but neglected. Hitchcock moves the film quickly and stylistically forward from the start with shots of umbrellas opening in unison as Fred makes his way home from work among a rushing sea in which he is simply swept away. Restless and board, and tired of being just a face in the crowd, he cannot find the same contentment exhibited by his wife Emily. When an unexpected windfall gives them a chance to really live, it will open their eyes to what's truly important if they can weather the dangerous rifts along the journey.

On to Paris and then on the ocean each will flirt with disaster then meet a real one together before all is said and done. Seasick most of the time, and finding no happiness in what is suppose to be the good life, the enchanting Emily is left on her own and will slowly and innocently drift to the brink of an affair with Commander Gordon (Percy Marmont). A genuinely good man, and she a faithful wife, they will both fight their feelings even after a kiss in the moonlight borne of loneliness. Once Fred finds his sea-legs he will be entranced and duped by a lovely and exotic adventuress posing as a princess. Betty Amann from the silent classic, Asphalt, is intoxicating with her dark allure and rounds out the foursome. From Paris to the exotic Port Said to the Suez Canal, Fred and Emily find themselves drifting away from their marriage, finding the fun with others they are too scared to have with each other.

The difference between the two partners is Emily's depth of understanding, which will compel her to stop just short of infidelity and try to warn her husband he is being a fool. Left near broke and with only each other, a less luxurious boat home will sink, providing moments of clarity followed by humor on a ride back to the life they should have appreciated the first time around. Everything is the same except they have each other now, making their tiffs about steak and kidney pie less important, because now they have a better understanding of what love is and how they fit together. Marmont and Amann are marvelous in supporting roles in this richly textured film held together by Henry Kendall and a sparkling Joan Barry, an English film actress who retired in 1934 after marriage. She's wonderful here in a film with more to offer than some have either been willing to see or perhaps unable to detect due to expectations created by Hitchcock's name. Worth a look.

Like much of Alfred Hitchcock's work up through 1934, 1931's RICH AND STRANGE (aka EAST OF SHANGHAI) is NOT a thriller or mystery, but rather a more conventional domestic drama, in this case one involving a couple on an adventure that becomes more than they bargained for. Fred Hill (Henry Kendall) is a minor office drone who dreams of an exciting life, preferably involving the sea; his wife Emily (Joan Berry) is a bit more content, but when Fred gets an early inheritance from a rich uncle, she joins him enthusiastically enough on an around the world trip. After an uneventful quick journey through France, the couple takes ship bound for the East - and Fred rapidly becomes and stays ill. Emily meanwhile becomes friendly with the charming and slightly reserved Commander Gordon (Percy Marmont) who makes bid to steal her heart - and when Fred's stomach regains it's stability, he soon makes the acquaintance of "The Princess" (Betty Amann) who has much the same affect on him. Soon the two are both contemplating other lives...but complications, inevitably, occur.

This is a solid romance with some adventurous elements, particularly later in the film as our pair face problems on a sinking ship. Though made after The Skin Game, from the same year, it betrays more leftover elements of the silent cinema early on, with significant use of title cards in the first third of the film, and though the narrative is less inherently stagy than the earlier film (which was adapted from a play), it feels a bit more generic and predictable on the whole. The camerawork is just as impressive as in the earlier film, with a quite stunning virtuoso 360-degree pan to open the film which promises spectacle that isn't quite delivered - though the technical quality is fine throughout. The acting is generally quite good as well, with special notice given to Joan Berry, a petite and gorgeous young blonde who alas retired all too soon. She has quite a screen presence and probably gives the best performance in the film, never overacting as her partner Kendall sometimes ends up doing.

For my money then this is relatively minor Hitchcock, but almost nothing in the director's work is disposable, and this isn't one of those few poor exceptions - it's a good example of his early style with actresses, for one thing; no icy "Hitchcock blondes" on display here, though I suppose "The Princess" is something like a later femme fatale character. My disc is similar to but not exactly the same as the one in the photo here; it's Korean I think but I can't be certain as there's nothing in English on it. Like just about all of Hitch's work through the mid-30s this film is in public domain and available on zillions of labels; unlike the aforementioned THE SKIN GAME, most of the copies seem to be fairly decent with only a bit of hiss marring the sound for perhaps a quarter of the film, and a pretty decent picture in most cases. As in my review of the other film, I'd recommend The Alfred Hitchcock Box Set, which also includes THE RING, THE MANXMAN and THE SKIN GAME - all among Hitch's best work from the late 20s and early 30s - if you want the best quality.

Nothing like an early classic nor one with much chance of being remembered, Rich and Strange does show flashes of the humor, dramatic tension, casting and cynical view of human nature, which mark his best films. In the young married woman of the couple whose adventures we follow, we have his beautiful blond, although not much else of interest among the other players. What appears to be a romantic comedy turns dramatic, when each is attracted to another. There is a resolution which involves the strength of one, who recognizes the weakness-dependency of the other. Finally, we find a denouement, in which there is essentially a return to the status quo ante. Not a film I feel I can recommend, save as an historical document showing the apprenticeship of one of the first rank of movie directors.